White Curtains
by arsonphobic
Summary: Your parents were good friends and you were inseparable since childhood. He was your best friend and the little brother you never had until you suddenly disappeared from him. 4 years later, you meet him again at UA as his upperclassman and the little boy you remember doesn't seem so little anymore. Maybe it's the way he towers over you - or that foul mouth of his. [reader-insert]
1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of your second year and you could already hear the excited voices of your classmates and fellow students at UA filling the building, friendly faces greeting you. It was as if winter break wasn't long enough and everyone had missed being in school - as much as they'd like to deny it. You had already arrived to your new classroom and found your assigned seat next to the window as you peered out the window to watch the students entering through the main gates.

"Hey, I'm not recognizing some of them, I wonder if they're the new first years"

"Dunno but it means that we're no longer at the bottom of the food chain anymore."

Your classmates had gathered around the windows with you, watching unfamiliar faces approaching the building you were in. While they speculated which of them were first years, you had your eyes spotted on a certain ash blonde boy with a scowl on his face. A small smile stretched on your lips - what an expression to have on the first day of school, you thought.

This was your first time seeing Bakugou with your own eyes in four years but you were able to spot him right away. It was no secret that he had aimed to become a hero one day, so when you were accepted into UA a little over a year ago, you knew this day would eventually come.

There were no tearful reunion plans, however, because you yourself weren't sure if he even knew you were a student at this school. You didn't know if he even remembered or cared for you at this point. Time would play its game and you would finally have your reunion with him. Until then, you decided to wait patiently.

Your friends, Tachibana and Sana, had entered the classroom then. They called your name cheerfully as they quickly found that their assigned seats had not changed from the year before.

Sana excitedly sat to your right, feeling the smooth surface of her new desk under her palms. "Feels kinda nice being 2-A instead of 1-A now!" She exclaimed.

"How was your summer, [Name]?" Tachibana asked as he settled into the seat in front of yours and chuckled. He already knew what you were up to, since you had spent the majority of summer training with your classmates and then with your two friends to finish your summer homework.

"It was the peak of my youth" you answered sarcastically.

It was an unwritten rule that freshmen could not eat on the upper floors of the cafeteria that overlooked the lower half of the cafeteria. You and your friends decided that it was finally time to enjoy the privilege of eating in this area of the cafeteria from now on.

After picking up a sandwich and milk carton from the lunch line, you made a beeline for the table your friends have selected, next to the railings that gave you a good view of the lower level and the large window lining one side of the cafeteria.

Here, your classmates were able to identify the unfamiliar faces and immediately began to guess which of the freshmen could be in class 1-A. You listened to the speculations while you couldn't help but silently search for a familiar face. By the third day of the semester, you had already figured out where Bakugou sat with his friends. Although, from his lack of sociability, you weren't sure if they were more classmates than friends.

You wondered if he stole glances at you like you did for him. If he did, he showed no signs of recognizing you. It was possible that he had yet to spot you in within the large student population. You were just finishing on your first week of the semester, after all. What would his first words to you in four years be? What kind of face would he make? You couldn't help but smile at the thought and leaned on the railing, the cold metal cold to your fingers as you looked down at the freshmen.

You were interrupted from your thoughts when an ear-splitting siren blared from the speakers above your head. Everyone in the cafeteria flinched at the sound, covering their ears in surprise and confusion.

Your friends had already risen from their seats, recognizing the siren as the school security system. Tachibana's eyes met yours and you nodded to each other in silent agreement that this was an unusual occurrence but you needed to remain calm.

"You think this is something serious?" You asked and picked up your blazer from your chair.

Tachibana shrugged, "It's the first time I ever heard this thing outside of drills."

At this point, the student population in the cafeteria had developed into a state of panic. Students began rising from their seats to make their way to the exit, pushing and rushing each other to go faster.

Tachibana had calmly led you and Sana down the stairs leading to the lower level of the cafeteria. Whether this alarm was the real deal or not, following protocol came first.

"We haven't got all day, hero department! Move faster or we'll all be in danger!"

A line of second years from the management department had emerged through the crowd behind you, yelling in panic as they pushed you aside to make way. You vaguely heard Sana's voice call out your name as you were separated from your friends.

"H-Hey, pushing is dangerou-" you yelped in surprise, and suddenly felt yourself losing your balance as the crowd pushed you with such large force. Out of reflex, your hands went forward as you tried to break your fall. You were surprised when a strong pair of arms caught you from falling face flat on the floor.

A pair of hands steadied you by your shoulders and you muttered a quick apology as you managed to regain your balance and looked up. Your eyes widened in surprise when you saw two familiar green eyes looking back at you in concern.

"Are you oka-... [Name]-san?"

"Izuku?!"

Although you were aware Bakugou had made it into the school, you had not expected to see his quirkless childhood friend to make it as well. You also certainly did not expect to meet Midoriya Izuku at UA before Bakugou after all those years.

Midoriya certainly seemed excited to see you, but you both knew that your conversation would have to be delayed till the chaos died down.

The crowd continued to push, and you felt a hand on your shoulder and saw it was Tachibana struggling through the crowd to reach you.

"[Name], I saw you trip just now, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" you answered quickly, glancing between Midoriya and Tachibana in the confusion.

Tachibana had reached for your hand, successfully grabbing it and leading you to a less crowded area. "Come on, we're going to take a different route since everyone's trying to go this way!" He had no idea that you had just run into someone you knew and unknowingly pulled you away from Midoriya.

Your eyes met Midoriya's one last time as you eventually lost sight of him within the bodies moving in panic. You wondered if Bakugou still treated him as poorly as he had four years ago.

Somewhere along the chaos you and your friends managed to arrive in the west corridor where the first year classes were. Word had quickly traveled as the panic dissipated and you found out the alarm had been triggered by the media trying to trespass. You wondered if this had something to do with the rumor that All Might was coming to UA as a new faculty member.

"Jeez, that was a stressful experience" you complained as the intercom instructed all students to return to their classes. Fifth-period lessons had been canceled and students were to self-study in their own classrooms.

"I still can't get used to being a second year - I kind of miss being a freshman," Tachibana spoke nostalgically as if he was a wide-eyed freshman again.

Sana shook her head in disagreement. "We suffered from all those harsh training sessions last year with Midnight sensei, there's no way in hell I ever wanna be a freshman again"

"Freshman year wasn't that bad, come on" you laughed at your friends and their different sentiments.

"Easy for you to say, you ranked in the top three for the sports festival and landed an internship with the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Sana pouted and hugged your arm, latching herself onto you to express her envy.

"Oh come on, your performance was great last year, too!" You laughed and led your friends as you neared the 2-A classroom but coming to a stop when you saw Midoriya waiting at the door.

When his eyes met with yours, you saw him visibly brighten as he approached you eagerly. Tachibana seemed to have recognized the green haired boy from the earlier incident and looked at you questioningly. You told your friends that you would join them in the classroom soon and dismissed yourself to speak with Midoriya in the hallway. The two of you stepped away from the door to stand closer to the windows.

"Hey now, you can't be skipping class already even if it's just self-study! I'm only going to turn a blind eye as your senpai since I owe you one for earlier" you said in a teasing tone.

Midoriya scratched the back of his neck shyly as he laughed nervously at your comment. Perhaps he had already been concerned about that. "I couldn't help it because I hadn't seen you in so long, [Name]-senpai!"

"It's nice to see you again, too, Izuku" you smiled gently.

"I was aware you were a student at UA because I saw you on TV for the sports festival last year but it still feels unreal to see you again after four years!"

You saw the way Midoriya clenched his fists excitedly when mentioning the sports festival and couldn't help but chuckle at it. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed all that much," you said. Remembering that Midoriya was quirkless, you were about to ask how he had made it into UA and which department he belonged to when you saw his expression change at the statement you had just made.

"Have you spoken to Kacchan yet?" He asked suddenly.

"I have not" you answered.

The shift in the mood could be felt immediately. Midoriya opened his mouth to say something but found himself hesitating. Maybe he thought it wasn't the right time or thing to share quite yet.

Midoriya smiled apologetically and shifted from foot to foot. "Sorry to bring that up out of nowhere. I guess the semester just started so it makes sense..!"

"No worries," you said and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I appreciate you stopping by to say hi anyways!"

With that, you mentioned that the two of you should probably head to self-study before a teacher caught you lingering in the hallway. You quickly said your goodbyes and watched him head to the first year corridor before entering into your own classroom.

Throughout your self study session, you couldn't help but frown when remembering Midoriya's concerned expression at the mention of Bakugou. You had only known the freckled boy in the past as a mutual friend through Bakugou but the boy was still as sweet and considerate of others as you remembered him to be.

But why did he look like he wanted to save someone?


	2. Chapter 2

_The bell to your front door was ringing and the sound of feet hurrying down the stairs echoed throughout your traditional wooden house. You shouted to your family that you got the door and felt your cheeks warming in excitement. Before you opened the door, you paused at the mirror and inspected your brand new seifuku one last time to make sure it hadn't wrinkled anywhere during the five minutes you had been wearing it. The bell continued to ring seven consecutive times impatiently and you smiled as you yelled that you were coming._

 _Of course, when you opened the door, it was none other than Bakugou. He seemed irritated that you had him wait longer than usual but his expression changed quickly when he saw the new attire you had on._

" _Ta-da!" You exclaimed, spinning in place to give your friend a 360 view of your middle school uniform._

" _The heck are you wearing?"_

 _If he had made that comment any other time, you would have probably smacked him for being rude but you were far too proud of yourself at the moment. You merely crossed your arms in front of your chest confidently as you looked down on him with the two inch advantage you had over him._

" _It's my seifuku, duh" you said dramatically. You didn't even know why you tried with this kid. "Starting tomorrow, I'm a middle school student."_

 _Bakugou looked you up and down, frowning at the skirt and how the end of the fabric swayed too high for his liking. "It doesn't suit you," he said. "Skirts are for girls."_

 _Truth be told, he was used to seeing you wear skirts. He just didn't like how the short length exposed your slim legs._

 _His jab at your femininity annoyed you. "Well, a grade schooler like you wouldn't know how to appreciate a fine woman like me." You huffed in frustration and you shook your head as if you didn't know what to do with him. "When you become an adult like me one day, you'll see."_

" _You're only five months older than me."_

" _No, I was born in the year before you were so technically I'm a year older than you!"_

" _Yeah yeah, whatever. So you down to play soccer or what?"_

" _Ugh, you're so annoying. Fine, wait here while I go change."_

" _You're making me wait again?!"_

By the third week of the semester, the cherry blossoms that had bloomed during the opening ceremony were all gone. You knew those flowers had a narrow blooming period but still felt disappointed nonetheless.

"Alright, that's it for the day!"

You refocused your attention back to class when Midnight, your homeroom teacher, clicked the projector on the screen off and announced the end of class. She neatly organized the stack of materials in front of her and clapped her hands to get your attention before you all made your way out for the day.

"As a reminder, please get your permission slips for the sports festival next month filled out and turned in by tomorrow! Whoever is on afternoon duty, please collect the texts we used in class today and return it to the resource room."

The class answered a yes in unison. Then Tachibana, the class president, led the class in thanking and saying goodbye to your homeroom teacher as she left with a wave.

A groan escaped your lips when you glanced at the board and realized that you were the one on afternoon duty. Your classmates thanked you as they said their goodbyes, piling the files used in class on your desk as they left.

"I'm so sorry [Name]-chan I'd love to help but I just got a text saying they need me at my internship!" Sana apologized quickly and gathered her belongings. You told her it was okay but she promised to buy you a treat next time as she dashed out of the classroom.

Tachibana, the angel, turned from his seat and watched the growing pile on your desk. "I can give you a hand, [Name]" he offered kindly.

You smiled but shook your head. "Thanks for offering but it's not that much," you gave him a reassuring smile. You would've liked his assistance but you knew Tachibana had a baby brother to pick up from daycare after school.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Very. Now go."

Tachibana didn't seem convinced but recognized your intention either way and made his way out while saying his goodbyes.

After confirming that all 20 copies of the files were present, you packed your bag and decided to come back for it after your visit to the resource room. You had a large stack of about a foot high that was quite heavy.

The way to the resource room was a bit far from your classroom. You had to take the stairs up two floors and travel to the opposite side of the building. It took you a bit but you finished organizing the files back into the shelves in an hour and made your way back to the classroom.

When you arrived at the second year corridor you saw that the classrooms in the hallway were empty. Your school had a plethora of facilities to host after-school activities so the classrooms had no use after school. You were surprised, however, when you reached the 2-A classroom and saw someone standing next to your desk.

You recognized the spiky ash blonde hair immediately and stopped at the entrance. Bakugou didn't seem to have noticed that you came, his eyes fixed on your desk. He reached his hand forward, his fingers slowly tracing the small metal plate carved with your name on the corner of your desk. You couldn't see his face but wondered what kind of expression he was making. When he finished tracing your name, he put his hand back in his pocket and let his eyes wander around the room. That's when he turned around and spotted you at the door.

"Hey" you managed to say.

His sharp eyes widened in mild surprise but his expression quickly turned into a scowl.

"The fuck are you doing this late at school?" Was his grumpy reply.

You frowned. "I could say the same for you. Is that the type of language you should be using when speaking to your senpai?"

You fully stepped into the room and closed the door behind you. Bakugou watched you walk through the line of desks as you stopped at Tachibana's desk and sat on it while he remained next to yours.

"Shut your fucking trap. I'm not bending down to be your bitch just because you're a grade above me."

"My goodness, where did you get that foul vocabulary from?"

"That's none of your business," he snapped.

You crossed your arms, partly angered and shocked by his attitude. Bakugou always had quite the personality but you didn't see this kind of hostility coming.

"Why are you giving me this attitude when you're the one touching my desk in my classroom?"

Bakugou clicked his tongue as if caught red-handed. He was hoping that you didn't see that just now. The room was suddenly filled with suffocating tension. He didn't make eye contact with you but you could tell from his stiff body language that he wanted to say something.

"So you knew I went to school here" you sighed, almost in relief.

Bakugou snorted at your statement. "How the hell could I have not known when your face was plastered all over TV during the sports festival last year?"

Processing what he had said, your mouth was open in an "o" shape. Midoriya had said something similar before but it never quite sank in that Bakugou would've seen you also. You forgot just how publicized the school events were sometimes.

"That fucking Deku told me he spoke to you a couple weeks back. I figured if you knew that I went to UA you'd come since you owe me a fucking visit after four years of disappearing on me." His voice was bitter and cut through your conscience.

His angry red eyes were on you now but you didn't avert your eyes from his. This was your first time seeing him in front of you like this. The boy that was always shorter than you now stood at least half a head taller than you.

"I didn't come to speak to you because…" you paused and saw it only served to further irritate Bakugou. Clenching your fists tightly, you sighed in frustration before continuing. "I didn't think you'd care."

This seemed to have snapped something in Bakugou, because he approached you quickly and made you flinch as he kicked your desk aside in the process. You were still sitting on Tachibana's desk and became trapped when his hands slammed hard on the desk on either side of you. His face was inches from yours and you could feel the anger seething from him.

"Not care?! Are you fucking kidding me?! " He snarled, "Is that shitty excuse the only thing you could come up with?!"

"Katsuki I-"

" FuCK !"

You flinched again when he pulled away and kicked your desk again, sending it crashing into the desks behind it. The sound of metal crashing into metal echoed loudly in the empty room, startling you. A string of curses escaped his lips as he grabbed his bag from the ground and walked out abruptly.

You released the breath that you didn't know you were holding. You hadn't expected his reaction to be so explosive and never saw him so angry. Why did he react to such an extreme?

You gingerly set your desk back on its legs and rearranged the line of desks that Bakugou had violently disturbed. The desks were back in their organized rows.

The weight you felt settling into your chest was heavy. But you felt it was well deserved.

Two days after your encounter with Bakugou, you were running in the fourth gymnasium with the majority of your classmates trailing behind you during second period. It was your twentieth lap and considering the large size of the gymnasium, you and your class were reaching your limit.

"Last lap and we're done with warm-ups!" Midnight announced and cracked her whip against waxed floors.

Some of your classmates scoffed. Midnight had the tendency to promise that it would be the last set just to sadistically announce another set of exercises to complete right after.

You finished first and felt like your lungs were about to burst. Everyone's attention was on Midnight as you waited nervously for her to announce the next set of "warm-ups".

To everyone's relief, Midnight descended to the ground from her platform overviewing the gymnasium. "Pro heroes are always pushed to their limits - you have to be able to perform even when you're exhausted," she said and clapped her hands encouragingly.

"Senseeeeei, how come we have to do strength training when the freshmen get to use USJ?"

"It's cruel of you to make us do cardio right after strength training!"

You silently agreed. Your breathing returned to its regular tempo but you still felt your muscles ache. To be honest, you didn't mind grueling trainings like this that helped you keep your mind off the things that bothered you.

Midnight was in the middle of explaining your next activity when the siren blared through the speakers above your head. You and your classmates groaned in unison.

"The security system again? What is it this time?"

Sana whined in agreement and covered her ears. "It's so loooooud! I bet it's the stupid media again."

You looked at your teacher for instructions, whose eyes had widened while looking down at the device in her hand. She loudly cracked her whip against the ground again to catch everyone's attention.

"This is the real deal!" She shouted. "Everyone follow me!"

The entirety of class 2-A was immediately on high alert. Most of you had some sort of combat experience from your internships and was no strangers to danger.

"Midnight-sensei! What's the emergency? How can we help?"

Midnight ignored your plead to be of use and continued to evacuate your class to the main academic building. The other classes had already gathered into the auditoriums when you arrived, filling into the seats by class in an organized fashion.

The teachers facilitated the evacuation, creating a calmer atmosphere in the auditorium compared to the chaos in the cafeteria not too long ago. Just as you settled into the seat you were designated to, you heard the hushed conversation coming from the boys seated directly behind you.

"I heard there was a villain infiltration somewhere on campus," one of them said.

"Seriously? Are we going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I heard it's contained in USJ so the teachers and police are dealing with it. But I heard the students that were in USJ got pretty beat up."

Your heart stopped at the information you were learning. USJ was where class 1-A was having their rescue exercises that day.


	3. Chapter 3

The USJ incident left the school buzzing. When all villains were apprehended and the authorities were sure the campus was villain-free, the students were dismissed and sent home for the day. You had caused quite a stir as you insisted assisting the situation in USJ. You only calmed when Midnight scolded you - you would be one more liability for the heroes to protect, thus getting in the way. This made you feel useless and you were no stranger to that.

The teachers refused to answer questions, reassuring you that they would get more details of the day's incident when the school released its official statement. They did share, fortunately, that there were no fatalities from the day's incident and only a few injuries. Class 1-A came out in one piece.

You were instructed to change out of your gym uniform, grab your belongings, and leave the campus. But your mind was busy with concern. You remembered Bakugou's explosive reaction a couple days ago that still hurt you. A strong feeling inside you was welling up - you wanted to make sure Bakugou and his friends were okay - but what if he didn't want you to bother?

A hand on your shoulder brought you out of your thoughts. You saw that it was Tachibana, smiling warmly at you like his usual self. "You alright?" He asked kindly.

"Yeah, I'm good" you lied.

Tachibana was always incredibly attentive to your mood, however, and gave you a knowing smile. You sighed in defeat.

"I'm sorry I'm just really… distracted." You admitted. You chose not to be descript but the answer seemed to be good enough for Tachibana as long as you were honest to an extent.

Sana seemed to have picked up on your mood as well. She suggested that the three of you grab lunch near the station. Her attempt to improve your day made you smile. The teachers had assured you that everything was okay so you should have faith in them, she pointed out. You decided to agree with her.

The school was canceled the next day and the media was all over UA for its inability to prevent the villain attack at USJ. You watched the news from your apartment as the media berated the school's administration and social media blew up with memes and criticisms directed towards UA.

Despite recent events, school resumed soon and your class was in good spirits. You couldn't share in their sentiments, however, and found yourself thinking of what could've happened had things gone wrong. What if things didn't turn out the way it really did? Your last encounter with Bakugou would have been that awful one not too long ago. The possibility made you sick to the stomach. By the time the first period was over, you decided to change that no matter what.

It felt like an eternity before free time arrived. You declined your friend's offer to compare answers for homework and made your way to the freshman corridor, stopping in front of the 1-A classroom.

You hesitated before you peered in. What if Bakugou was still angry and didn't want to talk? It was probably no question that he was still angry - but you hadn't thought what to do if he sent you away.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Surprised, you turned around to see a brown-haired girl with a round face standing behind you. You realized that you were probably in her way, piquing her curiosity. Now that someone from 1-A had caught you, there was no backing out from this.

You apologized for standing in her way and introduced yourself and your year. The girl introduced herself as well, her name being Uraraka Ochako. Uraraka kindly asked how she could help you.

"I was hoping to speak with Bakugou Katsuki, please."

She asked you to wait a moment before calling into the classroom, "Bakugou-kun! A senpai wants to speak to you!"

You could hear the students inside were surprised, asking Bakugou how he managed to befriend an upperclassman with that nasty personality. Several heads poked out of the door to peek at you, eyeing you with curiosity. You saw a flash of blonde with a black streak before a hushed voice exclaimed, "She's pretty, too! What the hell, Bakugou?!"

"Mind your own fucking business, discount pikachu!" Bakugou's gruff voice followed immediately.

When Bakugou stepped out and saw you, he immediately closed the door to the classroom behind him to prevent nosy eavesdroppers. Even though he seemed to be in a bad mood, you were still glad to see him unharmed from USJ.

"Let's go talk somewhere else," he said. You figured this was a good sign, considering he was willing to talk; maybe he had been waiting for you.

The two of you reached a quiet hallway but you were distracted from your thoughts that you didn't notice Bakugou stopping in his tracks. Your nose bumped into his right shoulder and you put a hand on your nose to ease the dull pain. He clicked his tongue at this and turned around to face you.

Bakugou didn't say a word and merely glared down at you. You figured this meant the ball was in your court. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, you recited what you ran in your head many times that day during class.

"I'm… I'm glad you're okay after everything happened," you started. "I know the last time we spoke, things didn't end well. I wanted to talk about that." When Bakugou didn't respond, you continued. "I'm sorry if I hurt you when I said I didn't think you'd care. Of course you'd care, but to be honest, I think I was afraid that you wouldn't care. It's been four years since we saw each other, for christ's sake, I thought you might've been… still mad at me… I guess. I wanted to come to talk to you, I swear. I missed you a lot and I felt awful after where we left off - that's why I'm here to say I'm sorry and I want us to be friends again and… yeah."

Your thoughts had fallen apart by then. There was so much more you wanted to say, but under Bakugou's glare, you suddenly didn't know how to articulate yourself. You felt stupid for letting those red eyes intimidate you. How did he suddenly make you feel this way?

"You were right about me being mad at you." He answered coldly.

You felt another pang of guilt strike your chest. "I figured."

His eyebrows furrowed as if your comment was unnecessary. "So are you going to tell me what happened four years ago?"

This was the question you were hoping he wouldn't ask. You had a go-to answer ready that had been rehearsed many times in the past when friends or teachers would inquire about your history, but you weren't comfortable lying to Bakugou of all people. Even if you did, he would call on your bullshit and get you even further from his good favor.

"So are you?" Bakugou repeated his question and you looked at him with your troubled face.

"I can't tell you." You answered.

"You owe me this answer and you know it. Either you cut the bullshit or we can act like we never met again."

He had abruptly issued you the ultimatum and you were genuinely at a loss for words. When he saw you didn't know how to answer, he stepped aside to leave.

You panicked and grabbed the pack of his dress shirt to stop him. "Wait, Katsuki!"

Bakugou turned around and jabbed a finger at your left collar bone, the sharp pressure hurting you. "Listen, [Name]. I didn't get into UA to play fucking games with you. So if you want to act all friendly with me again you better step the fuck up."

"I'll… I'll tell you but not yet. I have something I have to do no matter what and I've been working towards this for years. I have to make things right before I can tell anyone." You felt your determination for your goals grow stronger.

Bakugou found this resolve in you convincing. Whatever it was, if it was enough for you to jeopardize your friendship with him, it must be something important. This gave him an idea.

"If I place first, you have to tell me" he said with a confident grin.

"Huh?"

"The sports festival next month. If I place first in my year, you tell me this secret of yours. Take it or leave it." He decided to give you a chance - but only on his condition.

You bit your lip, deep in thought. Knowing Bakugou, you were seriously treading a thin line towards the edge of his patience. If you rejected this, there was no going back.

"Alright, but if I place first, you get nothing."

Bakugou seemed satisfied with the compromise the two of you had come upon. "Let's see you try."

You felt your lips pull into a smile - you had ranked second in the sports festival last year. You could do this, you told yourself.

Bakugou remembers the day he saw you on TV for the UA sports festival almost a year ago. The screen broadcasted your face, a confident smile stretching on your lips as Present Mic's voice announced the students that ranked in the top three amongst the first years. You had placed second, which was impressive in itself.

The TV showed highlights of your performance including the final tag team battle where your partner had been knocked out twenty seconds into the match. You held up against your opponents on your own, strategically pacing yourself as you fought them off with your quirk. If it hadn't been for your partner that left you to fight alone, Present Mic mused that you might have ranked first instead.

He didn't know how to explain the burning feeling in his chest. He tightly clenched his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white and nails digging into his palms. There was a little bit of pride in him but a tinge of pain that struck him as he watched you smile while accepting your silver medal.

So why did he accept your counter offer if he knew damn well of your performance the year ago and that you were capable enough to have a good shot at placing first this time around? He wanted so many answers from you, but he felt himself waver when he saw your determined face explaining how you had something important to do.

Maybe he missed competing with you. He remembered the pout you would make whenever he beat you in races or games - it wasn't often but victory was so sweet back then. But things have changed. His body was bigger, stronger, and he was learning how to maximize his quirk. He had finally grown taller than you over the years and your small frame made him feel superior.

This was going to be an interesting one.


	4. Chapter 4

The UA sports festival was exactly two weeks away. As the date got closer each day, certain periods became solely dedicated to individualized training to prepare for the big event.

While you were determined to place first in the sports festival and train even harder, you found it difficult to juggle everything on your plate. You had to miss two days of school every week for your internship with the Wild, Wild Pussycats. To compensate for this schedule conflict, your teachers granted you the permission to use the school's facilities for training after school and gave you an access card similar to your student ID.

Using your new privilege, you began training after school every day. You paced yourself, of course, but still pushed reasonably to grow stronger.

The campus was mostly empty after school excluding the few others with privileges like yours. You would stop by your classroom to pick up the materials you had missed from the day, which Tachibana made a habit to leave in your desk for you. You then changed into your gym uniform and headed straight to your training location.

You decided to work on the precision of your quirk that day. Your quirk was called Polar Force , the ability to use your body like a magnet. Whatever you touched with your right hand, you could attract towards you, and whatever you touched with your left hand, you could repel away from yourself. Most objects under your quirk's influence moved very quickly unless you really concentrated on the speed. As useful as it was, however, you had your limitations like anyone else. You could only push or pull something you touched with the respective hand in the last 24 hours and within a quarter mile radius. Pushing and pulling multiple objects at once required concentration and overusing your ability gave you migraines

You grabbed a tablet and began configuring the gym to set up for your first exercise, something Midnight had introduced to you during your first year. You would stand in the middle of a large space surrounded by weights and pull them to yourself at once. While the weights propelled itself towards you, you would practice aiming another set of weights to repel and deflect the incoming weights. It was like target practice but more dangerous, Midnight would say.

You usually had someone spotting you in case you missed or got sloppy. Letting a fifty-pound weight fly towards you at high speed was very dangerous, after all. Asking your friends to stay after school to help with your training, however, felt selfish. If things got dangerous, you figured you could train your reflexes while you were at it.

You had to become stronger. Not just to win in your deal with Bakugou, but to also achieve the goals you had.

The next morning, you arrived at school feeling sore and tired. Every time you moved a certain way, your muscles protested in pain. Furthermore, you had slept through your alarm that day and had to sprint to school that morning.

Tachibana and Sana greeted you warmly as you arrived just before the bell. You dropped your bag aside and lazily slumped over your desk, the cold surface refreshing against your warm cheek.

"Someone's been training hard!" Tachibana pointed out.

Sana giggled and reached over to squeeze your biceps. "Flex! Flex!"

You groaned and shrugged Sana's hands off your arm, pouting at your friends for teasing you. Just as you stood back up to take your blazer off, Tachibana's eyes widened in shock as it landed on the edge of your skirt.

"[Name]! What happened to you?!"

Unsure of what Tachibana was referring to, you followed his eyes down to your right thigh. Sana had spotted it as well and let out a high pitched gasp. Dark purple and blue littered your thigh, just barely covered by your skirt. You hadn't known it was there till Tachibana pointed it out but you were glad your skirt was just long enough to hide it.

You sat back down and pulled your skirt down just a little. "I think I got it during my internship," you lied, knowing very well it was from your training the day before. "It doesn't hurt, don't worry." It did hurt, now that you started poking it.

Concern was written all over Sana and Tachibana's faces, but you were saved when Midnight stepped into the room to start class.

Lunch came along fairly quickly but you were still very tired. You decided to make a detour before joining your friends at your usual table in the cafeteria and stopped by the coffee machine. To your surprise, there was a line. You stood at the very end of the line when you heard someone curse to your left.

"Fuck this line, I'm not getting coffee anymore."

You couldn't help but let out a mixture between a sigh and a laugh when you turned around to see that it was none other than Bakugou, obviously annoyed at the queue for coffee.

Bakugou immediately noticed you and became more irritated at your reaction.

"You're still a kid," you sighed and motioned him to come over. "Come here and I'll let you cut in front of me."

Bakugou ignored your offer and turned around but you were quick to reach over and tap his back with your right hand. Now that you had touched him, you used your quirk to pull him against his will, stopping your quirk just before he collided with you.

"You wanted coffee, didn't you?" You asked.

"Not if it means I have to wait in this damn line" he answered grumpily and tried to walk away.

You used your quirk on him again and for the next few seconds, Bakugou struggled against your quirk while you kept him in line in front of you. He increasingly became frustrated and you smelled the smoke rising from his palms as he resisted the urge to release his quirk at you.

"Fucking let mE GO, YOU BITCH!" He yelled and swung an arm at you but you dodged it easily.

"You have to learn how to wait for what you want, Katsuki" you insisted, struggling to hide the grin on your face.

Ever since the two of you had come to an agreement with the sports festival, you were able to interact with him casually again. You were afraid things would be awkward - but fortunately, your interactions came naturally. Some things have changed for good and you realized that's what time does - like how he rarely smiled or how the two of you didn't joke or play around as much as you used to anymore. Even so, you were glad to speak with Bakugou again.

Bakugou had stopped struggling and decided to wait in line with you, his arms crossed over his chest. You were checking your phone when you noticed him glare at your leg.

"What's that?"

You had tied a cardigan around your waist to better cover your bruise but accidentally moved it to expose it when you reached for your phone just then. Re-adjusting your cardigan to hide the bruise, you dismissed his question. "It's from internship, no biggie."

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"You always tuck your hair behind your ear when you lie."

Your hand stopped mid-air and you were caught in the act. Frowning and sighing in defeat, you remembered just how well he knew you.

Bakugou reached forward, lifting the cardigan just a little to get a better look at the bruise. You could feel the tip of his finger brushing against the blue and purple on your skin - although it didn't hurt, you were a little ticklish. The bruise wasn't even that high on your thigh, but feeling his finger and eyes on your skin made you feel embarrassed. If he moved a little higher, he could lift the end of your skirt.

"H-hey, it's rude to l-look at a lady's leg like that!" you sputtered and swat his hand away.

"What the hell gave you that bruise?"

You explained the exercise you had done after school and how you carelessly missed one of the targets that flew towards you.

Bakugou clicked his tongue and flicked your forehead. You flinched at the sharp pain and rubbed the spot that hurt, surprised by his action.

"So what, you need someone to spot you?"

"Don't worry about it, I got it taken care of"

"Yeah, and tomorrow you'll come to school with your little face all beat up?"

You didn't have a good response and pouted. The line had moved rather quickly and the two of you reached the coffee machine before you knew it. Bakugou pressed the buttons for a black coffee as he announced that he would join you for training after school at gymnasium #4 that day.

You insisted that you didn't need a spotter, which Bakugou ignored. "Stupid, I'm only taking advantage of your after-school access so I can train," he said. He then took his finished coffee and walked away.

Just as he said, Bakugou was waiting at the entrance to the gymnasium in his gym uniform by the time you arrived later that day. In return for him being your spotter during your training, you later helped him practice the precision of his attacks by propelling targets towards him with your quirk.

Together, you trained hard throughout the afternoon and gave each other pointers on how to improve. You always knew Bakugou was blessed with his specific quirk, but still found yourself impressed by how he had come to control it with such efficiency and power. If he played his cards right, you thought Bakugou had a good chance of placing first at the sport's festival.

Like that, Bakugou regularly joined you in your after school training for the next two weeks. Even if the two of you didn't interact during these sessions, having someone there created a sense of accountability that kept you motivated. You were glad Bakugou decided to train with you.

You had missed spending time with him, even if it wasn't spent playing soccer or running through fields like you used to as children.


	5. Chapter 5

The long road from the main gates to the school building was lively and bustling with energy as you made your way to your class. It was an hour before UA opened its doors to the public for the sports festival and local businesses were setting up their stalls in preparation early morning.

Just as you approached the main academic building, you were tackled from behind accompanied by a familiar cheery voice.

"Gooooooood morning, [Name]!" Sana shouted. You almost fell over from her latching herself onto your back but regained your balance soon enough.

You laughed and attempted to shake your friend off your back. "Sana, it's not even 8 AM and you have way too much energy."

"Today's the sports festival! You should be excited, too!"

Together, you reached your classroom in the second year corridor. Your classmates exhibited the same excitement as Sana, the group atmosphere creating an infectious sense of camaraderie. Apparently, students from the 2-B class had stopped by to announce their intentions to destroy your class during the sports festival.

The rivalry between the A and B classes in every year was nothing new, but you couldn't help feeling just as riled up. Haruno Ikki was in class 2-B, after all. Haruno was a student in the General Education department during his first year that surprised everyone by placing first in the sports festival the year before, earning his spot in the hero department for his second year. Amongst many other powerful peers, Haruno was a formidable opponent.

The bell rang overhead in the intercom and your class settled down from all the hype. Midnight arrived promptly to mark attendance and wish you all good luck.

"Unfortunately, the administration put me in charge of facilitating the first years. I'm disappointed I won't be able to watch my own chicklings perform, but I believe you all will do fantastic today! Make me proud, 2-A!"

With that, Midnight instructed your class to change into the gym uniforms and head on over to the stadiums. The school had three large stadiums used every year for the sports festival and other large events, numbered from one to three. As second years, everyone in your year was to check in at stadium #2.

You were following your class as you passed the route to stadium #1 when a familiar voice called for you.

It was Midoriya, excitedly waving his arm as he left the crowd of freshmen to run over to you. You told your classmates to go on ahead without you and reassured them that you would join them before roll call before walking over towards Midoriya.

"Good morning, Izuku."

"Good morning to you as well, senpai!"

Now that you had gone over your greetings, you noticed that the freckled boy was visibly nervous. You grinned and slapped his left arm, causing him to flinch at the sudden impact.

"Stop standing stiff like that and hold your head up high," you said encouragingly. Although feeling a bit like a hypocrite, you felt the need to fulfill your role as his upperclassman. "You're going to do great today!"

Midoriya smiled shyly and thanked you.

"It's too bad I won't be able to watch you perform in live since all three grades participate in their activities simultaneously." You said.

"I would've liked to watch your year perform, too, [Name]-senpai. I'm glad they staggered the schedules for the finalist rounds by year, though! I'll be able to watch you if you make it into the finals again!"

You chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm, which you found to be endearing. "That's what I'm aiming for." You exchanged a couple more encouragements with Midoriya and asked him to tell Bakugou good luck on your behalf.

Midoriya seemed to have remembered something when you mentioned Bakugou. "I saw that you and Kacchan were talking again..!" He said nervously, hands close to his chest. "I wanted to thank you for that."

You raised an eyebrow. "Why would you thank me for that?"

Midoriya hesitated and averted his eyes from yours and you felt yourself grow anxious from his body language. Ever since you first spoke to him at the beginning of the semester, you could tell that he had a lot to say but always reserved himself.

"Go on," you said. "I won't bite."

"You see... Kacchan… changed four years ago. He's the same person, no doubt, but it was like he saw everything around him in a different light. He was always rough around the edges, as you know… b-but he became much more irritable… violent, to be honest. He didn't make friends the same way he used to." Midoriya paused when he saw the way your features washed with guilt. "O-O-Of course! I'm not saying you're the cause of a-all that! I just think it's good for him that you're in his life again."

"Ah…" you said, almost like a breath escaping your lips. You weren't sure how to digest this information. You figured your disappearance had affected Bakugou negatively in one way or another but not to such extreme, despite Midoriya's attempt to deny your responsibility for it. Now you regretted asking him.

As if he had read your mind, Midoriya apologized quickly. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I had to go and say that to worry you!"

"No, you're good. I figured it might've been like that," you lied. You were selfish and absorbed by your own problems, not knowing how Bakugou might've felt. "Thanks for telling me, Izuku." A smile stretched on your lips but didn't quite reach your eyes.

Midoriya saw your expression and nodded. He wished you luck one last time and said his goodbye. Even as you turned to walk away, you could feel his eyes on your back.

You quickly joined your class at the stadium in time for roll call. While you heard your peers boasting of their new skills or whatnot, you couldn't help but feel helpless while your chest tightened.

The light at the doors to the stadium entrance flashed from red to green, signaling the students to enter the stadium. Everyone moved out in unison with excitement and you were a body simply moving with the tide. Upon your entrance, a deafening roar erupted from the audience that circled you, bringing you back to reality. The commentator's voice echoed throughout the stadium, announcing 2-B's arrival followed by the classes behind you.

Everyone settled into the seats in front of the stage located in the middle of the field, and you realized no one was sitting around you except Tachibana and Sana. Your peers were distancing themselves from you, well aware of the conditions to your quirk.

"It's nothing personal, [Name], I'm just trying to prevent your quirk from working on me later!"

"Last year, I forgot and gave you a high five in the morning… can't make mistakes like that again."

You actually didn't mind their cautiousness - if it were the other way, you would've done the same. Your sweet friends, however, knew that you had been careful from the day before to not touch anybody until the actual sports festival began.

"I trust you," Tachibana said and smiled at you sweetly, a refreshing treat to what you've been harboring inside all day.

The commentator's voice filled the stadium again as everyone was welcomed to UA's annual sports festival. Haruno Ikki was summoned to deliver the pledge as the previous winner the sports festival. Your eyes fixed on Haruno as he ascended to the stage and his eyes met with yours for a brief second. While you didn't feel you could be feeling any worse, you caught sight of his smirk towards you.

To your pleasure and surprise, you passed through the obstacle race and cavalry battle like a breeze. As long you got your hands on anyone or anything around you, your quirk gave you a good advantage over your peers. You placed fourth in the obstacle race but quickly rebounded as first in the cavalry battle.

A tournament battle was announced as the last activity for the day and the brackets were announced. And as if fate was playing its game, you saw that you would not battle Haruno unless you both made it into the finals. If things played out right, Tachibana would become your opponent in the semifinals.

Sana, on the other hand, seemed to have run out of luck when she was paired to battle Sato, whose electric quirk had a clear advantage over her water quirk. You could almost hear Sato's voice cheering from somewhere in the stadium.

You arrived at your designated waiting room later and found there was a TV that showed the highlights of the day from the first years. You took the seat nearest to the TV and soon caught sight of a familiar freckled face flashing on the screen. The screen showed scenes of Bakugou, Midoriya, and another boy competing to place first in the obstacle race and you couldn't help but release a laugh. Bakugou was cursing while he was being broadcasted live on national television. The livid expression accompanying his language was very appropriate, you thought.

"Hey, isn't that the guy you've been training with recently?" Tachibana pointed out, his eyes widening at Bakugou's temperament. "He seems… mean."

Bakugou must have been really impressionable for someone as kind as Tachibana to bluntly call someone mean. Soon, the nation would come to this agreement with Bakugou's lack of filter.

But even so, you couldn't help but feel a bit of pride welling inside of you. While all three years participated in the same events simultaneously, the finals were always staggered by year for the sake of broadcasting to a wider audience. If Bakugou made it to the finals like he promised, you would be able to cheer him on - regardless of your deal.


End file.
